


Captured

by catapillerjuice



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Animagus!Newt, Asshole Leta, Asshole Theseus, Autistic Newt Scamander, How Do I Tag, Not clearly stated but it's there, Panic Attacks, Recovery, Tina is an Auror, Trafficking, wow leta is really just a bitch isnt she
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28012752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catapillerjuice/pseuds/catapillerjuice
Summary: Warning!! This story is supposed to be about the recovery of someone who was abused! If this triggers you in any way please don’t read!!-Some elements of the recovery stages may not be portrayed 100% accurately, and I apologize for that!
Relationships: Leta Lestrange/Theseus Scamander, Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

The wind was swirling through his fur as his paws hit the ground rhythmically. One paw after the other, crashing down on the harsh ground. Trying to outrun the burning of exhaustion, he pushed on. He could see more and more light starting to appear through the thinning of the trees, and he new he was almost there. Glancing back, he could still see the dark shadows that followed him. Fortunately for him, he was faster on foot than them. Unfortunately for him, they weren’t on foot.

He pushed himself harder than last time; both fear and adrenaline pulsing through his veins. His fear grew as the air was suddenly harder to get in and out of his lungs. St. Bernards were born to run, but not for this long. His cuts and scrapes were burning; his bruises aching. He looked ahead and braced himself as he leapt out of the forest, suddenly in a wide open grass plain. He was surrounded by flowers and grass that stretched for miles. There was no way he would be able to outrun the figures that were now only a few feet behind him. He howled one last time, loud, long, and sad, before everything went dark.

* * *

" _Teenie?_ Tina? PORPENTINA!" A familiar voice shouted. 

She jolted awake, eyes wide. "I'm up! I'm up!" She responded, before recognizing the face of the woman standing across from her. "What's going on?"   
  


Tina looked around the room, trying to remember where she was. She was sitting at a wooden desk that was covered in scattered papers, seated in a leather chair, _her_ leather chair. She was in her office. 

"You didn't come home from work last night, so I got worried. When the other aurors said that they hadn't seen you since lunch, I was even _more_ worried. So, I came in here and found you asleep," Tina blinked as she took in her sister's words. "You overworked yourself again, didn't you." 

Tina was going to answer, but she stopped herself. They both already knew the answer. So, instead, she tried to bring up a different topic. "What's that in your hand?" She questioned, referring to the case file that Queenie was holding.

"It's a case file. When I was asking around for you, I asked Mr. Graves where you were. He said he hadn't seen you, but to give you this once I found you." She held out the folder, handing it to Tina.

"Thanks, Queenie," She smiled slightly, placing the file on her desk and opening it. She began to read, and she immediately gasped.

"What's wrong, Tina?" Her sister asked, voice filled with concern.

"This case... it's-it's about a trafficking group. They've been trafficking all kinds of magical creatures. The undercover aurors had managed to get a few pictures of some, and they look _terrible_. Malnourished, beaten, and more. Queenie this is terrible!" She explained, blinking back tears. 

It wasn't like she obsessed over creatures, but she'd always had a particular interest in them. Even so, these creatures needed to be helped. Queenie walked around the side of the desk and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as Tina continued to read on. 

"Apparently, they just got a few things that they claim are extremely powerful. They're asking huge prices for these things. Poor creatures..." She closed the file, finding that if she kept reading, she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears.

"They want me on the case. They're going to raid a few locations that they believe these people are storing the creatures at. The raid is happening tomorrow," Tina looked up at her sister.

_"And I'm going."_

* * *

Today was the day. The day of the big raid. 

It was 10:00pm, and the group of aurors was gathered in a wide open grass plain. They were surrounded by flowers and grass that stretched for miles. A forest stood in front of them; shadows hiding behind trees. 

"All right aurors. You all should know why we are here and what you are to do. Now, before we go, I must remind you all to watch yourselves and each other. These people are dangerous, so be ready for anything. Is everyone ready?" Director Graves stood at the front of the group so that he could address everybody easier. All of the aurors nodded. "All right then. Wands out everyone. Get ready to apparate." 

The group of aurors all drew their wands, and when Graves gave the signal, they were all gone. Tine reappeared in front of a large aircraft hangar, along with Queenie, Graves, and Tommy Fontaine, an auror who was a descendant of Theodard Fontaine. Queenie wasn't the best auror, she'll admit, but her mind reading capabilities were extremely useful.

"Alright. Fontaine, check if we're alone or not." Fontaine nodded.

" _Homenum Revelio,_ " Fontaine spoke. "There seems to be one person."

Graves nodded. "I'll go first. Goldstein, you next. Then Fontaine. Goldstein Jr., you last. Let's go," Graves cautiously led them into the hangar, whispering " _Lumos._ " 

Tina followed close behind, wand drawn. She looked around, and her heart dropped. She saw crates full of occamy eggshells, crates full of unicorn hair, and she even saw a crate full of viles that contained what she could only assume was unicorn blood. It took a lot to keep herself from audibly gasping. The whole group quickly turned when the heard the sound of metal chains.

"Show yourself!" Graves shouted in the direction of the noise. Instead of any response, they only heard a very, _very_ quiet whimper.

Graves looked at Tina and gestured with his hands that she approach from the opposite side as him. She nodded and started towards the sound, staying to the right. Graves was doing the same, but he was approaching on the left. Another whimper told them that they were getting close. There was three large crates against the wall. They were organized in an 'L' shape so that they left room for a little door. Tina pointed towards the door as she got closer, basically asking for permission to go inside. Graves nodded. Tina placed her hand on the door knob and pushed it open quickly, pointing her wand into the room.

Almost immediately she lowered her wand. "Graves..." Her voice cracked, revealing that she was about to cry.

"What is it Goldstein-" He walked in, and audibly gasped. She knew he had _always_ kept his composure, and seeing him reacting to this reassured her that she wasn't being overdramatic.

They were in a small room, about the size of Tina's office. There was a dog chained to the wall by its legs and arms. It even had a chain around its neck. The chains greatly restricted its movement, but the dog was still standing. It was wobbling a bit, though, so it was obviously tired from standing. It was missing clumps of fur, especially around its behind and tail. The remainder of its fur was covered in dirt, blood, and... semen. 

"What kind of monster would do that to a dog!" She thought out loud. She was about to apologize for talking, but she noticed that Graves had nodded in agreement, so she kept quiet. 

The dog was surrounded by the bodies of occamies, which were missing clumps of their beautiful blue-purple scales. There were also a few dead unicorns who were drained of their blood. Tina tried to take a step towards the dog to free it, but the dog just flinched, staring at her wand that still remained in her tight grip.

"They used magic to hurt him." Graves concluded. "Wand away, Tina," She nodded, slowly putting her wand back into its holster. 

"It's ok, buddy, we're not going to hurt you. We're here to help you," Tina spoke softly while taking another step towards the dog. It didn't flinch this time, but it was staring at her with eyes full of terror. 

She continued to take slow steps towards the dog, and as she got closer, she saw a patch of missing fur with a strange mark. She looked closer at it, and realized it was the word "Whore" burned into the dog's side. She gasped. 

"Graves, they burned the word 'Whore' onto his side..." She whispered to Graves, who stood guard near the door while watching Tina. He shook his head sadly and looked away, not being able to even look at the dog.

Tina was now very close to the dog. Close enough that she could unlock his chains. She kneeled down next to the dog, and slowly reached her hand out towards the chains. The dog just looked at her as she took the chains in cuffs of the chains into her hands.

"My name is Tina. I know you don't like me having my wand out, but I need it to unlock these chains. Is it ok if I take it out?" She asked. She wasn't expecting a verbal answer, but even some sort of 'dog agreement' of any kind would do. To her surprise, the dog nodded. Nodded like a _human_ would. She smiled at him, and slowly took her wand out, before sitting on the ground completely.

"Is there a key hole on these?" The dog shook its head no. "Are they magical?" It nodded. "Alright, I promise this spell isn't going to hurt you, ok? _Alohomora._ " The cuffs on the dog's arm broke. 

"Ok! Good! It worked. Now, I have to do the other ones around your legs and arms and then the one around your neck, ok?" The dog nodded. 

Tina aimed the wand at the dog's leg other leg and repeated the spell, and it fell with a _clang._ Then she moved to the front legs, breaking the cuffs one at a time, until all that was left was the chain around the dog's neck. She looked the dog in the eyes, and although it was letting her be this close, she knew it was still terrified. 

" _Alohomora._ " She said, and the cuff fell off. 

Suddenly the dog fell into her Tina watched, eyes wide, as its body started to change. Its fur was receding and its arms were bending. Tina was trying to figure out what was going on until she finally realized. It was becoming-... _human_. When the transformation finally stopped, a tall man with reddish hair and freckles was laying in her lap. He had no clothes besides a cloth that was wrapped around his waist, and his hair was an absolute mess. He was _covered_ in cuts and bruises all along his back, and the burn mark was right on his waist, the word "Whore" still clear as day. Tina quickly looked at Graves only to realize that his reaction matched hers, eyes wide and jaw dropped. 

"We have to get him back," Graves said urgently. "Is he awake?" 

"No, he passed out. Where are Fontaine and Queenie? We should tell them that we are bringing him back so that they tell the others." Tina inwardly winced as she realized that she had practically just told her boss what to do, but he just nodded.

"Go ahead, apparate to the private hospital at the Woolworth Building. Tell them that its urgent. I'll get Queenie and the others." Tina nodded, and then she was gone.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, like, my first fanfic, so please bear with me. Also, I don't know exactly how a survivor like the man would actually act in this situation, so the portrayal of recovery might not be 100% accurate. Feel free to leave feedback!

Suddenly, thanks to the power of apparation, Tina was sitting on the floor of the lobby of the private hospital that was inside the Woolworth Building. The man was still passed out in her lap, and she was holding onto him tightly.

"Help! You've got to help! This poor man!" She yelled towards the desk, hoping someone would come, and soon. Before she knew it, there were at least six healers running towards her. Two more were trailing behind, pulling a cot to put the man onto.

"We'll take him Ms. Goldstein," A woman said before bending down to pick him up, along with the help of two other healers. "Get him into the room, fast!" The woman from before shouted as she carefully placed the man onto the cot. 

All of the workers helped to move the man into an empty room with incredible speed, before transferring him onto a hospital bed. One man came in and started barking orders at them all, so Tina assumed that he was the Head Healer. 

"Damnit, his magic is so drained that we may have to use muggle substances. But first, we'll try potions." Tina heard him say at one point.

After they took the man, Tina moved to a seat in the waiting room. Her leg was bouncing anxiously, and she just couldn't sit still. She didn't personally know the man, but she felt like it was her responsibility to make sure he recovers. _What if he doesn't recover_? The thought that was haunting her. She tried to distract herself from the thought but she just couldn't, so she got up and walked towards the room where they were working on the man. 

"Excuse me, sir?" The man who she assumed was the Head Healer turned to her. "Is he going to be ok?" 

The Head Healer hesitated before answering. "I'm going to be honest with you, Ms. Goldstein, because I believe you are strong enough to take it. He will most likely physically recover, though it will take a while, even with magic. That is not what I am worried about. I'm worried about that fact that he will most likely never fully recover emotionally or mentally. We used the scarring on his back to determine that he has most likely been locked up for eight years... There are some old scars on his back that go back to long before that, but it looks like he started to collect new scars around eight years ago."

She nodded. "May I... see him?" 

"He's in a potion-induced sleep, but you may. Keep in mind that he has been through a lot and if he wakes up he may panic." The Healer let her pass, and she walked into the room.

It was quite a big room, and in a small bed was the man she had rescued. He was sleeping peacefully, and Tina couldn't help but flash a sad smile. The poor guy looked like he hadn't slept in days, and Tina thought that that could very well be the case. She walked over and sat down in a little chair next to the bed, before falling right into a deep sleep.

* * *

_He was in the forest again. He could feel his paws hitting the harsh ground as he ran for his life. Though it was his body, he had no control over what was happening. He just had to keep running, keep howling, keep crying, until it would finally be over. It wasn't even worth running anymore; he never got away no matter how hard he tried. They always caught him. Last time it has been by his tripping of himself. The time before, they had cast a spell over him that trapped him in a giant orb of water, and they kept him there until he nearly drowned. This time, it was by the wrapping of a material around his body, making him unable to run. The material reminded him of-... bed sheets?_

He sat straight up, gasping for breath. He looked around the room taking in his surroundings. He was surprised to find that he wasn't trapped in that room anymore. No, now he was in a-a hospital room? He looked to his left and saw a woman. She was sleeping, her head was tilted backwards and she was snoring loudly. The sound somewhat frightened him, but he tried to keep his cool. It was very dark in the room, so he couldn't see too well, but he tried. He looked at a large clock on the wall, and thought he could barely see it, he guessed that it was about midnight. He brought knees to his chest, curing around himself for protection. As he moved, the bed springs made a soft noise, and he whimpered, afraid to wake the woman. The woman blinked and lifted her head to look towards the bed. Though her could barely see her, he could have sworn he saw her eyes light up. He whimpered again, scared that she was angry at him. 

"Shh, shh. It's ok," She spoke gently as she tried to soothe him. "I'm Tina. Do you remember that name?" 

_Tina... Why does that sound familiar? Where have I heard it before?_ He nodded slightly.

"Great! Do you remember your name?" She smiled, and it seemed genuine. 

He hesitated, looking her in the eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. She looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Can you not speak?" She asked. He shook his head. "What if I got you paper and a pen? Could you use that?" He nodded slowly.

Tina leaned to her left to grab a backpack that he hadn't noticed before. She pulled out a notepad and a pen before handing it to him. Very slowly, while still staring at her, he took it. He started writing.

He looked back up at Tina and held it out, so she assumed that he was finished. She took it from him, smiling, before looking down to read it.

_The man called me Whore. I don't remember my name from before the man._

Tina looked up at the man with sad eyes. "I can't call you that. I have to figure out your name. Do you remember anything from before the man?" She asked him, handing back the pad and pen. 

He looked down and began to write. He was doing it for at least a minute, so Tina was hopeful that he remembered some things that could give them a clue as to who he is. He handed it back to her again. 

_I have friends. I miss them. They lived in my case with me. And I think I have a brother. That's all I can remember. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad._

Tina's heart broke as she read the last sentence, and she looked up to find that the man was crying. "Hey, hey, it's ok. I'm not mad. You're being so brave."

She held out her hand, and, hesitantly, he put his hand in hers. She gave his hand a soft, reassuring squeeze. She smiled at him, and he just looked at her. 

"Ok, now that you're awake, I'll leave you alone. I just wanted to stay and make sure you were safe while you were sleeping." She smiled before she gently let go of his hand and put the notepad and pen back into her bag. 

Picking up her back, she walked towards the door. She glanced back at him and smiled, before turning to open the door.

"Wait!" The man managed to get out, his voice hoarse. 

Tina turned back to him. "Are you okay?" 

"P-please don't go-..." He managed again, before coughing.

"Okay, I'll stay if you want. Don't worry." She walked back over and dropped her bag where it had previously been.

She took a step towards the man's bed and saw that he was sitting facing her, no longer wrapped around his knees. She was going to reach for his hand again, carefully of course, but instead, she was pulled into a tight hug and pulled onto the bed. 

"P-please stay. P-please protect me," He sobbed into her chest. 

"Shh... Don't worry. I'll protect you." She returned the embrace and began to rub light circles on his back. 

After a while, his sobs had stopped, and his breath had evened out. Tina soon fell asleep with the fragile man in her arms, swearing to Merlin that she would keep her promise.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Director Graves and Tina finally figure out who this mysterious man is, but this new knowledge only makes them feel even more sorry for him.

Tina heard the quiet creaking of a door, and the even quieter voice that cursed under their breath. Her eyelids fluttered open as she brought her hands up to rub them tiredly. She looked to her right and saw the man laying next to her, still sleeping soundly. Tina smiled and sat up, careful not to wake him. She looked towards the door, hoping to identify who had joined them in the hospital room. She expected a healer that was making morning rounds, but she wasn't exactly surprised to see the raven-colored hair and confident figure of the Director of MACUSA. 

"Morning, Director," She rasped, surprised by how dry her voice was.

"Good Morning, Ms. Goldstein," Graves smiled, shutting the door behind him before ambling over. Confusion was apparent on his face as he glanced between Tina and the man who still lay sleeping beside her. 

It took Tina a minute to realize _why_ he looked so confused, but once she put two and two together, she immediately tried to defend herself. "S-sir, I promise it isn't what it looks like. He asked me to stay with him, to protect him, so I did, but I-"

She froze when she heard a quiet groan from the man next to her. He stretched his arms out as far as he could, yawning loudly. His eyelids fluttered open as he sat up. For a moment, there was silence as he just looked at Tina, then at the Director, then at the room. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he quickly pulled his knees up to his chest, moving as far away as he could from Tina while still staying in bed.

"M'so sorry!" He managed to rasp out, whimpering.

"Hey, hey. Shh, It's ok. Calm down. I'm not mad at you, alright?" She smiled genuinely, trying as best as she could to calm the now trembling man. 

He slowly looked up, and when his eyes met hers, he started to physically relax. The tension in his shoulders seemed to fade away, and his trembling started to ease. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when he let go of his legs, allowing himself to sit properly.

"Sir, this is Mr. Graves," She spoke gently while gesturing to the man standing at the end of the bed. "He works for MACUSA. Do you know what that is?" The man just nodded slightly. 

"Great. Goldstein, have you figured out who he is yet?" The Director asked, not looking away from the man. He seemed to be deep in thought, as if recalling a memory.

"Not yet. He says he has friends who live in a case with him, whatever that means. He also believes he has a brother," Tina noticed that the man has started shaking slightly, so she held out a hand. When he placed his hand in hers, she gave a reassuring squeeze before redirecting her attention back to Graves. "Any ideas?"

Graves looked at the man thoughtfully. "British, right?" He asked before receiving a nod from the man. "Your brother, is he older than you?" Another nod. "Does he happen to work for the British Ministry of Magic?" Graves asked, smirking hopefully.

The man hesitated, thinking hard about the answer, before excitedly nodding his head. Graves's face lit up, jaw looking as if it was about to drop. Almost as quickly as it appeared, though, that joy disappeared from everywhere on his face except his eyes and was replaced by his normal straight-face. 

"I can't believe we've found you," He murmured in disbelief. "It's been a decade. Theseus is going to be ecstatic!" 

At the sound of his brother's name, the man's shook. It wasn't fear this time, no, this time, it was relief. He _knew_ that name. That name was _familiar_. It was _comforting_ kind of familiar, not the kind of familiarity of the squeaking of the door; the voice of the man. No, this kind of familiar felt _safe_. 

" _Theseus_ ," Tina repeated, turning her head to face the man. "Does that name ring any bells? Do you know who that is?" He nodded quickly.

Tina smiled, turning her head back to Graves. "Who is Theseus?" 

Before he even had a chance to speak, the Director was interrupted. "M-my brother!" The man replied enthusiastically, even though his voice was still quite scratchy.

"Well, you know who his brother is, do you know who he is?" Tina asked, hopeful that they would finally be able to stop calling him 'man'.

"Yes, I do," Graves answered, a small smile spreading across his face. "He's been missing for almost a decade with no leads whatsoever. His case had gone completely cold." 

"Well, what's his name?" Though Tina knew better than to be disrespectful to her higher-ups, she was growing too impatient to mind.

"Newton Artemis Fido Scamander; or, better known as Newt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a short chapter, but this was basically just meant to serve as a way to reveal who Newt was before moving on with the story.


	4. Chapter Four

"Newt Scamander... does that sound right?" Tina turned to the man-Newt-to see what he thought. He nodded vigorously.

They had finally figured out who he was. He was filled with relief, as well as longing. Now that they knew who he was and who his brother was, could he go and see him? According to the Director man, it had been almost a decade since he had last seen him.

"I don't think I've ever seen his case, but the name Scamander seems so _familiar_ , but I don't know why."

"Perhaps it is because before your promotion, you were my assistant, and I received quite a bit of mail from Theseus, which you delivered to me," The Director smiled slightly as he thought about all of the letters he and his friend had sent back and forth.

"I need to contact the British ministry right away," He paused for a moment as though he was considering something. "Actually, I think it'd be best if I was there in person to deliver the news. Mr. Scamander, would you prefer if I brought your brother here? Would you be okay with that? I think he would be delighted to see you, considering how long it's been." 

Newt answered almost immediately. "Yes!" His voice was still rough and he coughed as a result, "And please, call me Newt," He rasped out again, coughing even more.

Tina turned and grabbed a water bottle off of the bedside table to hand it to him. He smiled slightly as a thank you before opening it and taking a sip.

"Wonderful. I'll send him an owl, telling him that we have a surprise for him. Yes, he will surely be pleased," He turned his attention towards Tina. "Now, Ms. Goldstein, when Theseus gets here, he will most likely want some alone time with his brother, so be prepared to leave-"

"N-no... I want her to stay. Please?" Newt interrupted, his previous fears returning. It had been years since he last saw his brother, and though he hated to think badly of him, he wasn't entirely sure he could trust him. He had grown to trust Tina, and he felt safe when she was with him.

"Of course, whatever makes you comfortable, Newt," The Director hastily headed towards the exit of the room, before looking over his shoulder to call back, "You know how eager Theseus will be. Expect him to be here very soon." And with that, he was gone. 

Newt was ecstatic. He couldn't believe he was finally going to see his brother, after all these years. Last time Newt had seen him was when Theseus had stayed over for dinner, and Newt had brought his friend home to meet him.

 _What was her name...?_

Newt's mind was blanking again. He remembered how she looked, with her luscious brown hair and her beautiful outfit. He remembered that he had thought she looked _stunning_. He remembered how Theseus and his friend had also become friends, and he remembered how the two talked all night, completely ignoring Newt. He remembered that was scheduled to leave on a trip to Egypt that next day, and that he was supposed to be staying for a few months to research before returning home. He remembered that things didn't go exactly as planned. They never did.

_Merlin! What was her name?!_

And then, it hit him like a truck. 

_Leta. Leta Lestrange._

He smiled to himself. Maybe when he recovered and could leave this hospital, he could see her again. Maybe they could go out to that pond behind his house and skip rocks like they used to. Or they could go to the old eldritch tree and play with the bowtruckles. Newt wondered if the creatures would even remember him. Once he found out who he was, everything had clicked. He was starting to remember things, important things. Lots of things were still blank, and there were still lots of holes in his memories, but at least he had Theseus who could help him to fill in those blanks. 

A voice broke him out of his trance. "Mr. Scamander? Can you hear me?" It was Tina.

"Y-yea. Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts." He looked down, ashamed. She must have been trying to talk to him, and he had completely ignored him.

"No, no, don't worry about it. I was just asking if you were excited to see your brother." Newt looked up at her to see that she was smiling at him. The sight made him relax, and he managed to smile back.

"To answer your question, yes, I'm very excited. I haven't seen him in years. Though, last time I saw him, he was mad at me; I hope he's not still mad..."

"You have nothing to worry about Mr. Scamander. I highly doubt he'd hold a grudge for that long." 

"Oh, please, call me Newt. And thank you, that really does make me feel better," He smiled at her. 

Tina was one of the only people he trusted. Talking to her relaxed him, and her even just being in the same room as him eased his anxieties. She didn't just treat him like a victim, like the healers did. She treated him like a _friend_. And the thought of that made him smile even more.

" _Newt,_ " She repeated. "It's an interesting name; I quite like it."

He felt his cheeks heat up a bit. "Thank you," He mumbled.

* * *

Voices sounded from the hallway outside of the door.

"Percival, why won't you tell me what exactly I'm doing here? You said it was urgent, but I don't see any immediate danger, and you seem to be in a good mood." The voice, which Newt believed to belong to a man, sounded a little irritated, but mostly joking. 

"Sorry Thee, I don't want to spoil the surprise," That was definitely the Director. "Please be careful. Don't be too loud, and please be gentle. I don't want to scare him on his second day awake." There was a moment of silence before the doors to the room slowly opened.

The Director was the first to step inside, followed by a man and a woman. The man was wearing a nicely tailored suit, and the woman was wearing a beautiful magenta dress. The man looked around the room, seemingly unpleased, before his eyes locked onto Newt. His jaw dropped and he gasped, tears forming in his eyes. He looked so relieved, but that relief quickly faded to something else. To _anger_. 

"You. Arrogant. Bastard." He stormed over, the woman following him looking just as mad, if not _madder_. When he stood next to him, Newt flinched.

Theseus snapped at him. "I can't _believe_ that you were gone for almost TEN YEARS. Do you know how worried everyone was? Let me guess, 'Thee! It wasn't my fault! I didn't mean to! I was just off on another one of those ridiculous field trips examining beasts and got caught up. I didn't even realize how long I was gone for!'" Theseus spoke in a higher-pitched, mocking voice at the end. "And you didn't even write!" He raised his voice, and Newt could feel the tears streaming down his face.

The woman, who he recognized as Leta, pushed gently past Theseus so that she could stand next to him now. 

"I can't believe you! You led me on! You made me fall in LOVE with you. Just so that you could, what? Go fly away to Egypt and fall in love with another woman? Are you dating _her_ now?" Leta practically hissed while glaring at Tina. "Well, good. For. You." She spat.

"Now I'm married to Theseus, so I don't give a DAMN if you go flying off again!" She slapped Newt before backing up to hug Theseus.

As he felt the hand meet his skin, Newt felt himself flashing back to those years chained up in that room. It was like he was chained again, and the man had just slapped him for refusing to kill help kill the unicorn herd. He slammed his eyelids shut, feeling more hot tears streak down the side of his face. He brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them tighter than he had for his entire stay at the hospital. He was struggling to breathe, and he felt himself shaking.

Then, he felt arms around him. At first he struggled, screaming, "NO! STOP! NOT AGAIN! I'LL HELP, JUST PLEASE NOT AGAIN!"

"Newt, shh, shh, it's just me. It's Tina, you remember. Deep breaths. It's ok, I'm here." She heard the familiar voice whispering reassuringly into his ear.

He felt himself being pulled completely into her embrace, shielding him from the two who had yelled at him. She rubbed circles on his back as she let him cry into her shoulder.

"Deep breaths, that's it, you've got it. Shh..." He felt himself relax at her words, taking deep breaths. As his sobs came to an end, Tina started talking again, but this time he was sure it wasn't to him.

"What the fuck?!" She yelled, almost growled, at Theseus and Leta. All of that gentle reassurance had completely left her voice and was replaced by complete and utter rage. 

"Tina," The Director said sharply, though he sounded just as angry. "Act professional."

"No!" Tina replied. "I'm not going to be professional when these two bastards just _assaulted_ a man that _just_ got rescued from a trafficking ring?! And _you_!" Newt felt Tina's head turn towards the direction that he thought Theseus was standing in. "He was SO excited to see you. You wanna hear something? He could barely remember a thing, but one of the only things he could remember was YOU. He was SO excited that he would be able to see YOU. But instead, you just YELLED at him!" Tina sounded a little winded, but she continued

"And _you_!" He felt her head turn towards the other direction, presumably towards Leta. "YOU SLAPPED HIM? What the HELL is wrong with you, you _bitch_?" Tina hissed. "You triggered a full-out panic attack. The poor guy probably has fucking PTSD and YOU just triggered it. Luckily, I was here. But what if I _wasn't_? Do you even know how bad panic attacks can be? Probably not, because you just sit up on your high horse, using all your privilege and money to hurt others." She sounded as though she was about to be done, but then she spat one last thing.

"And we are _not_ dating. I am the auror who fucking found him." Now she was done, and the room fell silent.

Tina had just yelled at not only her boss, but also two representatives from the British Ministry of Magic. She could definitely lose her job from this. But then Newt realized something. The Director could have easily intervened at any given time during her rage and Tina would have shut up immediately. She wasn't one for disrespecting her higher-ups, if you forget about that time during the beginning of the argument. But he didn't. No, instead of interrupting, he just let her keep going. 

There was a long period of silence which made Newt very uncomfortable. He shifted a bit, and Tina just hugged him tighter, moving one of her hands to run her fingers gently through his hair. The action relaxed him more, and he felt himself leaning into the touch. Then finally, someone spoke.

"T-trafficking ring...?" It was Theseus. "What trafficking ring?"

Someone sighed, and Newt figured it was the Director. "I was going to tell you once you got to see Newt because I was not expecting it to play out this way, but Newt wasn't just off on another adventure like you thought. We assume he was kidnapped while somewhere in Egypt, and he was caught in a trafficking ring. About a week ago, we got wind that these people had gotten their hands on something that they claimed to be 'priceless' and 'extremely powerful'. We don't exactly know what it is, but I have a good feeling it had something to do with Newt. But, back to the story. We raided a warehouse that belonged to the traffickers and we found Newt, along with animal parts that could be sold for fortunes." Newt flinched slightly at the memory of the animal parts.

Another period of silence.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" It was Leta this time, and she sounded angry. Her tone scared Newt, and so he just whimpered softly and hugged Tina tighter.

"Mrs. Lestrange, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you have no right to be angry in this situation," Newt was really starting to like this Director guy. "My apologies for not realizing that you were going to _assault_ the man that you haven't seen in ten years," There was lots of sarcasm in his voice this time, and Newt realized that he must have been _really_ mad to lose his composure like that, even if it was only just a sarcastic remark.

"Well maybe if you had told us-" Theseus started.

"You wouldn't have _yelled_ at your brother? And your wife wouldn't have _slapped_ him? Come on, Thee. I thought you were better than this," The Director cut him off before he could even argue.

Newt broke down at the word 'wife'. Theseus had married the one person that Newt had ever loved outside of family. He stole her from him. Newt pulled away from Tina's embrace and turned around to face Theseus. His anger was creating a sort of confidence in him, and he found himself able to finally reply.

"You," He growled, looking Theseus right in the eyes while feeling tears start to form in his own. "You stole the ONE person that I ever truly loved. The one person who ever TRULY understood me. The one person who I _thought_ truly loved me," He realized he was laughing now. It was a laugh that scared even himself, but he continued on.

"WOW. I really was the fool you thought I was, wasn't I, Thee? You know, when I was being _tortured_ , you were the ones I thought about. I thought about _you_ because you were the ones who I was expecting to save me. I spent years being whipped, beaten, and forced to do things that I will not speak of. But I always had hope that you would come and save me. Because after all, you're my big brother. Theseus Scamander: war hero. You were _my_ hero. I looked up to you. But instead of trying to help, you were marrying her." Newt turned to Leta, and as he watched her cling onto Theseus, he snapped.

"And YOU!" He spat. "I _loved_ you, Leta. You were the one person who didn't call me a freak. Who didn't talk about me behind my back. I loved you so much, Leta. And I was such a fool to think that you loved me, too. But the whole time you were probably just using me to get closer to my brother. I get it. He's the better looking one. The smarter one. The one the girls swoon over." Newt was full out crying now, hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

"J-just get out!" He sobbed.

Leta and Theseus looked at each other, then at Newt, then back at each other, before walking swiftly out the door. The Director shot Newt a sorrowful expression before following them, closing the door behind him. Once they were gone, Newt turned back to Tina and collapsed into her, resting his head on her chest and curling up, almost in a fetal position. He sobbed into her shirt while feeling her arms wrap around him once more, rubbing circles on his back and gently running fingers through his hair.

"T-tina?" Newt asked, sniffling.

"Yes?" She responded softly.

"Do you think... Do you think what they said was true?"

"Of course not, dear." She spoke firmly, yet gently. There was no anger in her tone, but just seriousness. "You were completely in the right. If they were right, would I have risked my job for you?"

"I guess not..." There was silence once more.

"I really did love her, Tina. I loved her more than anything. When I was in Egypt, I missed her so much. I couldn't wait to be home to see her again. But I guess Theseus got to her first." He spoke bitterly. He had stopped sobbing, but there were still tears in his eyes. 

"I know, sweetie. I know. But it's going to be ok. Once you're out of the hospital, you'll be able to go home and meet new people. You'll make new friends; you don't need your brother or Leta."

"I don't want to go back home. I don't want to be anywhere near Theseus or Leta." 

"Well, you could always stay with me and my sister if you'd like." Newt looked up at her, eyes wide.

"R-really? You'd let me stay?" He asked incredulously.

"Of course. Queenie would be more than happy to let you stay, and I'd also enjoy it." She smiled genuinely.

Newt squeezed her tightly. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" He was crying again, but this time, for the first time in years, they were tears of joy.


End file.
